He was speaking at the conference of ministers of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries from states and union territories at the PUSA institute here. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar attended the conference.

Saying that Kamdhenu University in Chhattisgarh had no agricultural science centre, Sahu demanded the establishment of five such centres in the state. He also sought the setting up of a bull-mother farm in the state to strengthen the productivity of milk yielding cattle.

Sahu said that the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources had identified and patented a new breed of cow in Chhattisgarh and urged the central government to help in further research on the breed.

He urged the central government to increase the grant for general category farmers from 25 percent to 50 percent and from 33 percent to 66 percent for farmers belonging to Other Backward Classes, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.